Catherine O'Mara

Stroll through Catherine’s charming cottage garden to her home-based studio/gallery, and prepare to immerse yourself in nature.  Catherine’s paintings express the mysterious layered depths of tangled forests and misty wetlands, and the flora and fauna found there.
 
Catherine, who is self taught, started as a watercolourist 25 years ago and painted scenes of homes, gardens and family life.  But she soon developed an interest in the ancient medium of egg tempera painting, and now uses this medium exclusively.  She begins by creating a plaster-like finish on Masonite board, which is sanded and polished to provide a smooth white surface on which to paint.  The medium for the pigment is egg yolk and water. The paints have some watercolour properties such as water solubility, but the natural oils of the egg yolk cure to a hard lustrous finish and imbue the paintings with a distinctive luminous quality which lends itself well to the detailed layered process of Catherine’s work.  

Represented by the Framing Place and Gallery in Huntsville, Catherine has been a member of The Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour for ten years, and participates in many local shows.